At breakfast this morning while reading the papers I came across two articles that drew my attention.
First the not so good news (I prefer to remain positive), the Nautilus is in grave threat of extinction. Apparently, this cephalopod has been loved by the fashion industry over centuries, it is being hunted to near annihilation of its species. Reportedly, the demand for it's lustrous shell over years has never stopped and even increased. great families in the middle ages have fashioned heirloom jewelry using them.
This curious animal feeds on shrimp and small fish by grasping on its prey with around 90 tentacles and drawing it into its mouth. Fossilized remains of the animal date back as afar as 500 million years with some of the archeological artifacts having gargantuan sizes. Both its inner and outer shells show exquisite markings that are used for all sorts of adornment whether for fashion or for the home.
Nautilus is taken from the Greek word meaning boat. And oddly the way the nautilus gets around is by jet propulsion. It blows air and controls its bouyancy by regulating the air contained in its shell's multiple chambers. When the animal gets too big for its shell, it closes of the smaller chamber and creates a bigger one that can freely accommodate its movement. It can not live any deeper in the oceans or its shell will implode. Italians during the great age of the Renaissance were awestruck to find the symmetrical way by which the animal fashions its shell. It is as beautiful cut cross-wise as it is preserved whole.
Unfortunately, the poor animal's population has declined immensely over eons of over fishing and trade for its lustrous beauty. Jewelry traders have machine polished and cut its inner shells and erroneously dubbed them as Osmena pearls (Osmena is the family name of a political dynasty in the Philippines). The jewelry fetch hundreds of dollars online. Disastrous repercussions spring from the sales of these items as researchers found to their horror that in areas where they used to be seen in abundance (Bohol, particularly) their numbers have dwindled. You'd be lucky if you caught two after laying out lines of 40 traps to catch them. Environmentalists are completely unaware of the carnage to these lovely creatures. They need protection to allow it to survive and re-populate.
Meanwhile, on land, the lowly yam is making great news. For years in the Philippines, we have cooked, baked, sweetened, pulverized, sliced, diced and made them into chips for all sorts of culinary excursions. From desserts to main viands we've elevated this lowly root crop from tuber to super ingredient.
Often mistaken for sweet potato (kamote), yams are not of the same family. Kamote has a lighter skin color and its flesh is more light orange to orange in color. Yams have a darker skin, almost like a bark and its flesh is more on the violet side.
Now comes an article hailing both ubi and gabi as a major source of an Anti-Hypertensive Protein that's been isolated from both crops. The high fiber content in ubi and gabi (taro) has been found to inhibit an angiotensin- converting enzyme that may prevent high blood pressure leading to heart attack, stroke, heart failure , aneurysm or renal failure.
Statistics show that a billion people suffer from hypertension, two thirds of whom live in developing countries. It is the prime cause of premature deaths of eight million people worldwide. Since hypertensive medicines can set you back an arm and a leg. WHO recommends that those suffering from hypertension resort to using alternative drugs. DR. EDGARDO E. TULIN who is a chemistry professor of the Visayas State University in Baybay City, Leyte led the study which proved beneficial for those with heart ailments.
The drug can not only "prevent angiotensin I to angiotensin II (responsible for increasing blood pressure), it can also lower the rate of sugar absorption in the blood stream and regulate the body's metabulism". It is also a good source of vitamin B6 that reduces risks of heart attack. The research team was able to extract 333mg of PRP-1 (protein ) for every 100g of yams. Tests on mice showed no toxic effects of the drug whatsoever.*
There is a running joke in the country about tubers being "musical"... maybe passing air can actually be good for you...
* statistics from the article of Marvyn Benaning, Manila Bulletin, 05.Nov.2011
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